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Middle East Centre Archive St Antony’s College, Oxford Guide to Collections created by Women

Introduction

Please note that the following Guide is not comprehensive. It has been compiled from the main Guide to the Middle East Centre Archive and only collections created or collected by women have been included. In addition to the material listed below papers created by women will be found in the collections of organisations such as the Jerusalem and East Mission. Where a more detailed description of a collection exists, this is indicated in this Guide by the word ‘Handlist’.

Please note that uncatalogued material appears at the end of this Guide. Please note TS means typescript. MS means manuscript i.e. handwritten.

ANDERSON, Margaret Grace. GB165-0511 Privately printed memoir entitled ‘Mussolini Changed my Life’, written by Dr Margaret Anderson (née Smith). The memoir, which includes some photographs and also maps, documents Margaret Anderson and her family’s movements during World War 2, specifically from December 1939 to May 1946. During this time, the family moved from Glasgow to Sudan, then Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and later Cape Town. Margaret Anderson and her sister Jean fled from Sudan to Rhodesia in 1940, following events relating to the Italian forces’ attack on the border with Ethiopia. Other places visited include France, , Alexandria and Cairo. Along with personal remembrance and a first person account of childhood and schooling in the British colonies, the memoir includes information relating to the contemporary political and military context. 1 item. Handlist.

BAILEY, Sheilagh Elizabeth. (b.1929). GB165-0564 Interview and photographic material relating to Sheilagh Bailey’s work in Oman in the Palace Office from 1972-1984 and later visits to Oman. In the interview Sheilagh Bailey discusses her slides and photograph albums and their context. There are two boxes of 35mm slides relating to Sheilagh Bailey’s work in Oman in 1972, and four photograph albums covering 1972-1980s, as well as later return visits to Oman and Switzerland in 1998-1999. 3 boxes. Handlist. Photographic collection.

BAIRD, Nina Isabel. (d.1919). GB165-0017 Papers and photographs relating to Nina Baird’s work with the Red Cross, at Cairo Citadel, and among the Bedouin at Amira consisting of a letter of sympathy from General Allenby to Sir Alexander Baird 11 Aug 1919; an obituary of Nina Baird by Miss H. Ridler dealing with Nina Baird’s work with the Red Cross at Cairo Citadel and among the Bedouin at Amira, 1915-1919. 22 photographs, mainly consisting of photographs of carpets, as well as some photographs of 24 Jun 2019 ©Middle East Centre, St Antony’s College, Oxford. OX2 6JF 1

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Nina Baird. Handlist. Photographic collection.

BEASLEY, Dr. Ina M. , née Girdwood. (1898-1995). GB165-0022 Minutes of the Gordon Memorial College Council, 1944-1948; material on educational expansion in Sudan: Southern Sudan, 1946-1950; Northern Sudan, 1947-1956. 1 box. Handlist.

BELL, Gertrude Margaret Lowthian. (1868-1926). GB165-0023 Copy of travel diary of a journey to Hayyil, Jan.-May 1914; letters to Humphrey Bowman, 1920- 25, and Lord Allenby,13 May 1920; C. J. Edmonds’ lecture “Gertrude Bell in the Near and Middle East”; W.C. Donkin’s catalogue, The letters and papers of Gertrude Bell, Newcastle, 1966. 1 box. Handlist. Photographic collection.

BLYTH, Miss Estelle. (1881-1983). GB165-0031 Papers relating to her father the Rt. Revd. G.F. Popham Blyth, Bishop in Jerusalem; copy of The All Highest goes to Jerusalem, being the diary of the German Emperor’s journey to the Holy Land, London, 1918; House of Lords Debates, notes, policy statements, etc. on Palestine 1920-39, with a few press cuttings. 1 box. Photographic collection.

CHEESMAN, Edith. GB165-0054 Mesopotamia (Iraq); watercolours, London &c., 1922. 1 vol.

COATE, Winifred A. (1893-1977). GB165-0060 Letter from Winifred Coate to Stewart Perowne on conditions in in July 1971, including agriculture at Abdelliyeh and the difficulty of getting produce to market undamaged after vehicle searches, the security situation in Zerka Town, the poor state of the Jordanian economy and disillusionment amongst ‘the more settled ’ at the guerrillas openly ‘announcing their aim to disrupt the Government of Jordan and destroy the King’. 1 sheet. Handlist.

COOPER, Derek and Pamela GB165-0363 Beirut Diary 1 July – 13 Aug 1982 by Derek Cooper, Beirut Diary 1 July – 13 Aug 1982 by Pamela Cooper, photocopy of a letter of thanks for good service from RB Spicer (Inspector General, Palestine Police) to GD Cooper (Special Constable Palestine Police) 4 Dec 1933, Photocopy of the article ‘Palestine Paradox by Major E.M. Turnbull. The Life Guards’ in the Household Brigade Magazine, Spring 1948, photocopy of the article ‘Evacuation of Palestine, May, 1948 By Capt D.L.S. Hodson, The Life Guards’ in the Household Brigade Magazine, Autumn 1948. 1 box. Handlist.

DICKSON, Dame Violet Penelope. (1896-1991). GB165-0364 Photocopy of a TS account of Violet Dickson’s family history; MS description of each photograph album; 12 photograph albums, 1956-1981, mainly covering Kuwait but also including a small amount of photographs taken in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Dubai, Sharjah, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Yemen as well as photographs of European countries and Africa. 12 Albums and 13 sheets. Handlist.

DIGBY EL MEZRAB, Jane Elizabeth, formerly Lady Ellenborough. (1807-1881) GB165-0087 Microfilm copy of housebook and accounts, Damascus, 1861-70. 1 reel. Handlist. 24 Jun 2019 ©Middle East Centre, St Antony’s College, Oxford. OX2 6JF 2

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DIXON, Catherine J. GB165-0088 MS diary 25 August-3 September “Adventures of four women who visited Petra in 1925”, illustrated with 46 black and white photographs, giving an account of the journey from Jerusalem to Petra and back. 1 vol.

EMERY, Miss Susanna Pearce. (1896-1986). GB165-0099 MS letters written to her family during the course of her career as a teacher at Jerusalem Girls' College and Headmistress of the English High School, , 1919-30 & 1932-48; three TS volumes of autobiography drawn from the letters. 3 boxes. Handlist.

GOULD, Lorraine Macdonald. (1898-1935). GB165-0407 Photocopy of TS letters written by Lorraine Gould to her mother commenting on the causes and progress of an uprising against King Amanullah Khan. The letters also describe fighting in Kabul in December 1928 and an evacuation by plane to Peshawar. 18 sheets. Handlist.

GURNEY, Betty. (d.1981). GB165-0127 Letters, 1937, 1944-49 and 1953-55, to friends recounting her daily life in Isfahan and later in Cairo as the wife of the Revd. David Gurney, CMS missionary in Iran and Egypt. 96 sheets.

HAIG, Margaret and HAIG, Helen. GB165-0129 TS accounts of journeys undertaken by Margaret and Helen Haig (daughters of Lt.-Col. T.W. Haig) around Meshed in 1914 and 1916, and from Isfahan to Mohammerah in 1918. 92 sheets.

HARRISON, Helena Austen. (c.1895-1986). GB165-0136 Journal of a visit to Palestine via Egypt, 1925, and album of photographs of Palestine. 2 vols. Handlist.

KLINGEMAN, Clara, née Struve. (b. 1907). GB165-0174 “Palestine of Yesteryears,” an account of the establishment of Christoff Hoffman’s Temple Society in Palestine, 1861, and the Struve family’s life in Haifa as members of a Temple Colony there, 1872-1936. Photocopied illustrated typescript, 1983. 286 sheets.

LOTBINIÈRE, Helen Ruth Mildred Joly de. (1912-1953). GB165-0411 Volume entitled ‘Scrap Book Eddie and Helen de Lotbinière’ containing TS extracts from letters, diary entries and latter accounts by Helen de Lotbinière describing the struggle to join her husband in Aden and her life and work in Aden from Oct 1939-Mar 1941. Also includes photographs, letters, pressclippings, Christmas dinner menu for 1940, identity card and special permit to enter vulnerable areas. 1 vol. Handlist.

MONROE, Elizabeth. (1905-86). GB165-0207 Translation of documents from Tsarist archives on the break-up of the Ottoman Empire,1914- 15; a note on the Arab Bureau, 1916-19; letters from C.J. Edmonds on recollections of Mosul Commission, Kurds and Anglo-Iraq treaty of 1926; letters from Freya Stark, 4 November 1943- 18 June 1944, on her mission to America; notes on British policy in Palestine 1945-48 with special reference to Ernest Bevin; letters on Jordan Waters situation, 1951-55; Nasser's propaganda in the Persian Gulf, 1955-57; effects of the Suez crisis on Iraqi politics; letters on 24 Jun 2019 ©Middle East Centre, St Antony’s College, Oxford. OX2 6JF 3

MECA WOMEN developments in 1957 in Iraq and Iran; memo “Saudi Arabia 1970-71”; map of the Hijaz railway; material on Egypt’s campaign to spread its influence by dispatch of Egyptian teachers abroad; TS copies of 2 letters from Elizabeth Monroe about her travels in Morocco and Algeria in 1935. 1 box. Photographic collection.

MORGAN, Miss Dorothy Blanche. (b. 1906). GB165-0208 Material relating to Palestine during and after the Mandate, covering her career as a history teacher at the English High School, Haifa, including letters from S. P. Emery, reports from the office of the Bishop in Jerusalem on the situation during the period May 1948-March 1950, copies of Bible Lands and Lines of Communication, and a report by Winifred A. Coate on the Abdelliyeh Village Project, Jordan, 1977. Handlist. 2 boxes. Photographic collection.

NORMAN, Miss Dorothy Aston. (1907-c.1993). GB165-0219 Letters written to her family during the course of her career as a mathematics teacher at Jerusalem Girls' College and the English High School, Haifa, 1934-48; letters to her sister, Evelyn, while in charge of St. George’s Hostel, Jerusalem in the absence of the Warden, September-December 1955. 1 box. Handlist.

PALESTINE AND LEBANON NURSES’ MISSION. GB165-0373 Papers consisting mainly of personal correspondence to and from Miss Ward between 1903- 1913, amongst other letters addressed to women based in the Palestine and Lebanon Nurses’ Mission, Baakleen. The two diaries of Miss Ward’s relate to her life in Lebanon and England. In addition to this, there are six pamphlets relating to the mission, giving accounts, committee listings and reports from the field, dating from between 1903-1909. 1 box. Handlist.

RAMIREZ, Rosalind Cecilia. (1912-1999). GB165-0408 Papers relating to Rosalind Ramirez’s life and work as governess to King Faisal II of Iraq from 1943 to 1946 and her subsequent life, including letters from King Faisal II, letters of condolence received upon his death, and the research for and publication of a number of essays on the subject of Iraq and King Faisal II. 3 boxes. Handlist.

RIDLER, Miss Hilda M. (1880-1980). GB165-0244 Off-prints of two lectures given by Miss Ridler to the Barbados Museum and Historical Society, “The Palestine I Knew. 1914-1948”, 1949, and “Palestine Revisited”, 1952; trilingual Form of Service commemorating the deliverance of Jerusalem, n.d.; Palestine: a brief description of the Holy Land, specially written for children, n.d. 27 sheets.

SEARLE, Pauline. (b.1922) GB165-0328 OMAN ARCHIVE: The papers cover the nine year period which Searle spent in Oman as a journalist for Reuters, relating mainly to the Dhofar war in southern Oman, which was ongoing during the time Searle lived there, and military operations connected with the war. A significant part of the papers relate directly to Searle’s work for Reuters, and her communications with Reuters personnel in Bahrain and London. Other papers are working notes, and written articles created and collected by Searle in the course of her work. There is a small amount of personal papers and printed material. Some of the materials look at the wider context of life in Oman for the local people. c1968-1979. 4 boxes. Handlist.

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STEINFELD, Rebecca: Fertility Policy in Israel GB165-0574 A series of interviews undertaken by Rebecca Steinfeld in support of her DPhil for the Department of Politics and International Relations at Oxford University, entitled “The History and Politics of Fertility Policy in Israel, 1948-2010”. Topics covered in the interviews include discussions of policy, reproductive culture, demographic issues, religious issues, fertility tourism and the interviewees’ roles in the process and development of fertility policy. 2 boxes, 21 Mp3 recordings. Handlist.

TEAGUE, Mrs. Heather, née Fairley. (d.1966). GB165-0279 Duplicated TS letters, April 1936-June 1940, to her parents and brother Harold from Jerusalem where her husband, Col. John Teague, was working for the Government of Palestine. 44 sheets.

THOMPSON, Barbara M., née Sherrell. (1904-1992). GB165-0283 Travels of Tatah 1938-45 by Barbara M. Thompson: illustrated account by the wife of Jack Thompson, Senior Medical Officer Palestine Railways, of her journey to Palestine and subsequent wartime journeys between Palestine and South Africa, edited by Michael Thompson; additional biographical information by Michael Thompson. 78 sheets. Photographic collection.

WHEELER, Percy D’Erf (1861-1944) and Grace (b.1872). GB165-0355 Papers relating to the life and work of Dr. Percy D’Erf Wheeler, especially in the London Jews Society Mission Hospital in Jerusalem 1892-1944; Published articles mainly concerning mission work, such as the work of St Luke’s Boarding School for Boys in Haifa and material collected by Mrs Whishaw including papers relating to the death of the Palestine Policemen Captain J. Mackenzie in 1922 and two reports on the Coptic Orthodox Church in 1985. 1 box. Handlist. Photographic collection.

WILSON, Hilda Mary (1904-1990). GB165-0302 “School year in Palestine, 1938-39”: TS account of a teacher’s life at the Arab High School, Bir Zeit, during the Arab rebellion; curfew pass; notice in Arabic. 79 sheets; 2 items; 13 photographs. Handlist.

WILSON, Monica (1920-2017). GB165-0573 Papers relating to Monica Wilson’s work in Palestine as a radio broadcaster, journalist and civil servant, consisting of letters to her parents, 1943-1948 which include accounts of the bombing of the Palestine Post and the King David Hotel as well as the siege of Jerusalem; a statement from Monica Wilson regarding her letters from Palestine (c.2010); an overview of Monica Wilson’s letters by Roger Hardy, 2013; 14 transcripts of letters written by Monica Wilson, transcribed by Roger Hardy 2013. 2 boxes. Handlist.

WOOD, Barbara (b.1926) GB165-0375 Mainly consisting of copies of a diary of life in Saudi Arabia kept during the 1960s and 1970s, typed up by their creator in the 1990s. Additional papers, comprising of an introduction to events leading up to the beginning of the diaries, and a key to the pseudonyms used in the typed version of the diary, augment the major papers. Further to this there are also 14 sheets of photocopied photographs which were taken in around the same period as the original diary. Handlist. 1 box. Photographic collection. 24 Jun 2019 ©Middle East Centre, St Antony’s College, Oxford. OX2 6JF 5